Elie Wiesel Speaks Out

Our dreams of peace have gone up in the smoke of ransacked synagogues and blood-thirsty mobs.

Transcript of Elie Wiesel's speech given at the Israel Solidarity rally in New York.

We have gathered here to affirm our solidarity with Israel. We are outraged by the hypocritical vote in the Security Council, which did not condemn Palestinian excessive reactions but condemned Israel's response to them. We stand by Israel whose present struggle was imposed upon her by the intransigence of the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority.

Those of us who reject hatred and fanaticism as options and who consider peace as the noblest of efforts finally recognize Yasir Arafat for what he is: ignorant, devious and unworthy of trust.

We had hoped for a genuine peace between Israel and her Arab neighbors, including the Palestinians. We had dreams of Israeli and Palestinian children playing together, studying together, laughing together, and discovering each other's worlds. The pain, the agony, the death of any child, Palestinian or Jewish, is a torment to us. But why does Chairman Arafat not protect them but instead uses them as shields for adults throwing stones and worse?

Yes, it is with a heavy heart that we say that our dreams of peace have gone up in the smoke of ransacked synagogues, in the lynching of Israeli prisoners and of blood-thirsty mobs shouting their version of a Jerusalem without Jews and a Middle East without Israel. And I blame the supreme leader of the Palestinians, Yasir Arafat.

By rejecting Israel's unprecedented generous territorial concessions, he is burying the peace process; in so doing, he has betrayed the confidence not only of his negotiating partners but of President Clinton and other western leaders, just as he has betrayed the highest honor society can bestow upon a person. How can a leader, any leader in Israel renew discussions with him before all the kidnapped soldiers are returned to their families?

By unleashing mob violence and bloodshed in the streets rather than guiding his frustrated people toward coexistence and peace, he renounced their legitimate aspirations for a future free of suffering and hatred.

I hold him responsible for the murder of Rabbi Hillel Lieberman and the lynching of two young reservists. All his promises were lies; all his commitments were false. Indeed many peace activists here and in Israel are now reassessing the Oslo accords.

Under Israel sovereignty, Christians, Jews, and Muslims alike could pray without fear in Jerusalem, our capital, which is at the center of Jewish history. A Jew may be Jewish far from Jerusalem; but not without Jerusalem. Though a Jew may not live in Jerusalem, Jerusalem lives inside him.

No other nation's memory is as identified with its memory as ours. No people have been as faithful to its name, or have celebrated its past with as much fervor. None of our prayers are as passionate as those that speak of Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is the dream of our dreams, the light that illuminates our hopeless moments. Its legitimacy lies in its sovereignty. To oppose one is to deny the other. Israel will never give up either. I accuse him of being morally weak, politically shortsighted and an obstacle to peace.

I accuse him of murdering the hopes of an entire generation. His and ours.

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Visitor Comments: 18

(17)
Deborah,
August 13, 2017 7:19 AM

A great speech

Sadly, 2000 was the year of multiple suicide bombings in Israel and this speech still applies today, 17 years later.

(16)
Anonymous,
March 27, 2011 8:16 PM

Both the Nazis and Communists had strict "gun control."

Su., 03/27/11 common era
I understand that Mr. Wiesel is a strong advocate for more "gun control." That is very sad; and to that extent, he hasn't learned the complete lesson of the Holocaust. Pacifism and turning the other cheek are definitely not Torah philosophies.

Kathleen Stiver,
February 7, 2017 3:19 AM

You really think that someone who lived through the Holocaust didn't understand it? What an absurd statement. You desperately need to read Night

(15)
ivlyndy,
February 27, 2010 8:20 PM

Elie the survieor

When I read your book of your existance in the holocaust it was not my first foray into the holocaust I will never forget your love for your father and your agony and will never forget who and what you are and were. You came into my heart and life.

(14)
Jeremiah,
March 25, 2008 8:50 PM

Who do you think you are "Yoni" that you should talk to anyone that way, let alone an enlightened, knowledgable, and wise survivor? You sound like a child who is so sure of everything, yet knows nothing.Go read a book.

(13)
Nathan Fox,
February 10, 2002 12:00 AM

a moment of your time

My name is Nathan. I am Jewish and live in Boulder, CO. I have heard many great things about you Elie and hope to know you personally. A project was assigned to me where I had to pick a hero. I choose you. I don't care what anybody says, someone who lives threw the Holocaust and doesn't hide from the public should always be announced as a hero in my book. I feel very in touch with my religion. I try to go to the synogague on a regular basis and go to sunday school. I have your biography and will soon be acquiring many of your own books. Your speech brought me closer to reality and for that I thank you. A moment of your time is all I ask. I would like to get to know a hero. So if you can please e-mail me as soon as possible.

p.s. I know you get thousands of these e-mails a say and this is probably the last one you'll read but I promise I won't waste your time. I hope to hear from you very soon.

Nathan

(12)
Yoni Gershon,
December 25, 2001 12:00 AM

Dreams of peace

Wiesel wrote:
"We had hoped for a genuine peace between Israel and her Arab neighbors, including the Palestinians. We had dreams of Israeli and Palestinian children playing together, studying together, laughing together"

He goes on to (finally) blame Arafat.
I am not surprised that Wiesel and his ilk are suffering a rude awakening.

They are ostriches. They never believed in God but in Arafat. They did not believe in the Land for the Jews but in some Disneyesque vision of savage dogs turning into puppies.

How can someone who experienced the holocaust perpetrate upon themselves such a level of self-delusion? Liberal Jews excuse such fantasies as a result of their "passionate yearning for peace" which the see as the essence of their Judaism.

This is a very incomplete picture. "Shalom" means the completeness of harmony. It starts by the REMOVAL, EXPUNGING and DESTRUCTION of the disharmonious elements. Thus fighting a battle to destroy evil is often the first (and necessary) step towards true peace.

The Torah teaches: "uviarta hara mkirbecha" Expunge the evil from your midst. and: "Sur merah vasei tov" First remove yourself from evil and then do good.

You can't laugh and play with people who passionately dream of your destruction. Who teach their children to hate and kill us. Who refer to the founding of the State of Israel as "the Nakba" (catastrophe).

Liberal ostriches: Wake up and smell the Kaffiyeh! (feh!) As far as they are concerned it's us or them. Our response must be: It will be us.

bBracha,

Yoni

(11)
joanne hirschfield,
September 9, 2001 12:00 AM

why do we accept evil???WE MUST ACT OUT WITH CONVICTION AND FORCE!!!POLITICALLY CORECT IS STUPID!!!WE MUST GO WITH G-D AND DO WHAT IS RIGHT!!!

I was quite a hawk for Israel until that seemingly magic moment when negotiations started with the Palestinians. I'd never thought peace was possible and when Arafat became involved I was squeemish and skeptical but I gave him the benefit of very strong doubts. I wasn't wrong to mistrust him. Now Israel has to decide how to live securely and give up on the Palestinians. Arafat will go down in history as one of History's greatest Mis-Leaders.

(9)
lisa,
October 26, 2000 12:00 AM

Elie Wiesel

I have always been one who wanted peace, I believed that living in a country that was constantly battling each other was no way to live. I wanted to believe that if we gave some land to Arabs, then we could live in some sort of harmony. Imagining what occurred to the two soldiers lynching has haunted me since I heard. (I refused to watch any part of it.)

I have always listened and respected Elie Wiesel. For me, what he has always said, is the way it should be. I only wish I had heard him at Oslo 7 years ago. Perhaps 8 Jewish lives would still be here on this planet now...

(8)
Greg Boardman,
October 25, 2000 12:00 AM

I realize trust has been broken. But is it not still possible to think of Jerusalem as an international city with shared sovereignty? Can such a Jerusalem live inside the Jew as Mr. Weisel articulates it? It appears to be a real hope apart from world war.

(7)
Tresa Bouren,
October 25, 2000 12:00 AM

Please know that not every American is against you. This is one family that stands for you. Stand your ground in faith. Do not let lies intimidate you.

(6)
Martin Wasserman,
October 25, 2000 12:00 AM

Time to face reality

It's time to quit talking about war avoidance, and start focussing on war winning. All of our self-restraint has only served to weaken our position. The Palestinians clearly seek a war of annihilation against us, and we must respond if we ever plan to live in peace in the Promised Land. Jewish history shows that the way to prevail in this conflict is to return to our faith and our Covenant, and abandon the ways of thinking that have brought us to the current disastrous state.

(5)
Anne_Schwartz@brown.edu Schwartz,
October 24, 2000 12:00 AM

Thank you, Elie Wiesel

Nothing has changed. The Arab blood-thirsty barbarians emulate Adolph Hitler.
They know they can get away with murder because this tortured world "eggs" them on and supports their fanatic religious hatred against the Jewish People. In 1938 Hitler screamed, "The world won't care what we do with the Jews" His words ring true today as they did then. Am Yisroel Chai (The nation Israel lives) We shall never give up hope for a true and just peace because "the guardian of Israel never slumbers nor sleeps." Anne_Schwartz@brown.edu

(4)
Larry Nelson,
October 24, 2000 12:00 AM

Thank you.

Thank you for your clarity and perspective. May your valuable thoughts as a voice of Jewish conscience and morality continue to inspire the world.

(3)
Anonymous,
October 23, 2000 12:00 AM

The heart of the struggle has not changed. It is the unwillingness by the Arabs to live with a Jewish state as can be seen in the Hebron massacre of the 1920's, the Arab uprising against Jewish immigration in the 1930's which closed Israel as a haven to European Jewry, the refusal of the Partition Plan into 2 states,the destruction of Jewish holy sites when under Arab control, the unwillingness to share holy sites, the use of mob violence, hijackings,terrorism,murder of athletes and civilians,etc.Most of all, it is seen in the destruction of their own moderates and the ongoing teaching of antisemistism to their youth, and the use of children as "martyrs" for international PR and further teaching of antisemitism. Hopefully, the Arabs will eventually have a leadership with the interests of the people at heart and not the interests of their antisemitic hatreds and desire for power and control.

(2)
sol jacobson,
October 23, 2000 12:00 AM

The article expressed my sentiments.

Eli Weisel has put into words what every thinking person believes.

(1)
Anonymous,
October 23, 2000 12:00 AM

I agree with these statements 100%. More people need to be educated on what is really going on in Israel and not what the media is trying to sensationalise and palestinians are lying about.

My Christian friends are always speaking about “faith.” To me this sounds a lot like blind faith. Is that really the essence of religion?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

I'm afraid that this is another case of a Christian concept being mis-associated with Judaism.

Let's first define our terms. What is faith?

Webster defines faith as "Belief without proof."

What is knowledge? "An acquaintance with truth, facts or principles through study or investigation."

Faith is usually a product of desire. Have you ever gotten a tip on the market that guarantees you're going to triple your money in a month? A lot of smart people have gotten fleeced because they ignored the evidence and went with their feelings.

Knowledge, on the other hand, is based on evidence. We know there's a place called China because we have too many products in our house saying "made in China." There's a lot of evidence for the existence of China, even though most of us have never been there.

Judaism unequivocally comes down on the side of knowledge, not faith. In Deuteronomy 4:39, the Torah says: "You shall know this day, and understand it well in your heart, that the Almighty is God; in the heaven above and the earth below, there is none other." (This verse is also contained in the prayer, "Aleynu.")

This verse tells us that it is not enough to simply know in your head, intellectually, that God is the Controller of everything. You must know it in your heart! This knowledge is much more profound than an intellectual knowledge. God gave us a brain because he wants us to think rationally about the world, our role in it, and our relationship with God.

A conviction based on desire or feelings alone has no place in Judaism. The Hebrew word "emunah," which is often translated as faith, does not describe a conviction based on feelings or desire. It describes a conviction that is based on evidence.

Once this knowledge is internalized, it effects how a person lives. A person with this knowledge could transform every breathing moment into a mitzvah, for he would do everything for the sake of the heaven. But this is not a "knowledge," that comes easily. Only intensive Torah learning and doing mitzvahs can achieve this knowledge. Every word of Torah we learn moves us just a little bit closer to that goal. And everyone is capable of that.

To learn more, read "The Knowing Heart," by Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (Feldheim.com). This entire book is an explanation of this verse!

In 350 BCE, the building of the second Holy Temple was completed in Jerusalem, as recorded in the biblical Book of Ezra (6:15). The re-building of the Temple had begun under Cyrus when the Persians first took over the Babylonian empire. The re-building was then interrupted for 18 years, and resumed with the blessing of Darius II, the Persian king whom is said to be the son of Esther. The Second Temple lacked much of the glory of the First Temple: There was no Ark of the Covenant, and the daily miracles and prophets were no longer part of the scenery. The Second Temple would stand for 420 years, before being destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE.

You shall know this day and consider it within your heart(Deuteronomy 4:39).

Business people who are involved in many transactions employ accountants to analyze their operations and to determine whether or not they are profitable. They may also seek the help of experts to determine which products are making money and which are losing. Such studies allow them to maximize their profits and minimize their losses. Without such data, they might be doing a great deal of business, but discover at the end of the year that their expenditures exceeded their earnings.

Sensible people give at least as much thought to the quality and achievement of their lives as they do to their businesses. Each asks himself, "Where am I going with my life? What am I doing that is of value? In what ways am I gaining and improving? And which practices should I increase, and which should I eliminate?"

Few people make such reckonings. Many of those that do, do so on their own, without consulting an expert's opinion. These same people would not think of being their own business analysts and accountants, and they readily pay large sums of money to engage highly qualified experts in these fields.

Jewish ethical works urge us to regularly undergo cheshbon hanefesh, a personal accounting. We would be foolish to approach this accounting of our very lives with any less seriousness than we do our business affairs. We should seek out the "spiritual C.P.A.s," those who have expertise in spiritual guidance, to help us in our analyses.

Today I shall...

look for competent guidance in doing a personal moral inventory and in planning my future.

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